New lice policy, elementary report cards top LCPS meeting

LAS CRUCES —Las Cruces Public Schools has established a head lice policy aimed at helping students miss as little school as possible.

Educators and school nurses used to send students home immediately if they had lice and to quarantine students until they no longer had nits, Ellen Williams, LCPS director of health services, said at the District Advisory Council meeting Monday evening.

LCPS representatives lead the monthly meetings to improve communication between administration and parents.

Under the new policy, students with lice are sent home at the end of the school day and can return to school after they finish treatment. Head lice do not jump or fly and in-school transmission is rare, Williams said.

LCPS consulted with the nation's leading parasite expert, and its policy mirrors those of the Centers for Disease Control and other health institutions.

At the council meeting, administrators also discussed changes to elementary report cards in light of the new common core.

The report cards may be six pages long, broken down by the state standards as opposed to merely categorized by "reading" or "math," said Elizabeth Marrufo, director of elementary education.

The district will revise them again next summer based on feedback from parents and teachers.

For information, contact 575-527-5946.

Lindsey Anderson can be reached at 575-541-5462. Follow her on Twitter @l_m_anderson.